Recommended courses
Travelers may be afraid of driving cars by themselves and going sightseeing in Saitama because they are not familiar with Japanese traffic conditions. We have prepared some train courses around Saitama for such travelers. Japanese trains are punctual and safe. Furthermore, an increasing number of stations and lines have multilingual signboards. Therefore, foreigners will find it easy to take Japanese trains. Please refer to these courses to enjoy travelling around Saitama and discovering its charms.
Tour to see Saitama's traditions and technology.
Japan is a country where leading-edge technologies are harmonized with traditional culture. The following course will enable you to understand the charm of the combination of Japan's leading-edge technologies and traditional culture. The starting point is Asakusa Station. This station is very close to the Tokyo Sky Tree, the world's tallest broadcasting, restaurant and observation tower. It will take not more than 30 minutes to arrive at Soka, your first destination. Here, you will encounter the most up-to-date technology while feeling Japan's traditional culture. It may be a good idea to spend a day this way in Saitama.
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Soka Matsubara, an avenue with a row of more than 600 pipe trees, is a well-known sightseeing spot in Soka. |
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Soka senbei is a big Japanese cracker brand that is well known throughout Japan. Senbei is a traditional Japanese cracker made from non-glutinous rice steamed, hardened, and baked. |
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Togyoku, Master Artisans of Hina Dolls―Hina doll-making experience (reservation required) Japanese dolls are a popular traditional craft. Visitors can experience the production of Japanese dolls at the Tougyoku Dolls Hall. The Tougyoku Dolls Hall is located in Saitama's Iwatsuki, a town that has been well known for Japanese dolls since the Edo period. Visitors can experience the production of Japanese dolls on a regular basis. |
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Suzukishuzo Co., Ltd.―Sake Brewery Museum This museum permanently exhibits a variety of historical materials that tell the history of the company's sake-making since its establishment in 1871, along with a number of traditional brewing tools that are not often seen nowadays.4-8-24 Honmachi, Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama |
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The Saitama Municipal Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, the world's first public bonsai art museum, opened in 2010 in order to introduce bonsai, a Japanese traditional art. This museum exhibits worldwide masterpieces of bonsai as well as bonsai-related items. |
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The Railway Museum in Saitama City is the largest museum of railways in Japan. This museum exhibits a variety of items related to Japanese railroads, including real trains in its history department, and popular experience facilities with a train simulator where visitors can experience realistic train driving. |
on the Tobu Noda Line.
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Sightseers who do not have much time to buy souvenirs should visit here. Sopia has a selection of at least 700 types of prefectural specialties. |
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Kuranomachi―Tour to Kawagoe
Koedo Kawagoe is a town with a long history typified by streets with massive storehouses. It does not take more than one hour from Shinjuku, the center of the capital, to get to this town. If you visit, however, you will feel as if you had been transported from Tokyo through over a hundred years to the Edo period. The stream of time stops in the Edo period in the center of Kawagoe. You will feel the history of common Japanese people in the streets of storehouses, think of the history of samurai when you hear the bell, and see the history of the Japanese people's religion at the Kitain Temple. A Kawagoe strolling course has been prepared so that visitors can experience the history of Japan in one day. Would you like to travel back in time in Kawagoe, where a strong atmosphere of the Edo period still remains?
Get off at Kagagoe Station on the JR Kagagoe Line or Tobo Tojo Line.
Get off at Hon-Kawagoe Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line.
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The Kitain Temple has the statues of Five Hundred Rakan, disciples of the Buddha. This temple is closely associated with the Tokugawa Shogun, and most of the historical buildings of the temple are designated national cultural assets. |
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Hommaru Goten was the residence of a daimyo (feudal lord) and his retainers. Remains of daimyo residences still exist only in two places in Japan, i.e., Kawagoe Castle and Kochi Castle, which are of great historical value. |
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Town with Storehouses (including Time Bell and Kashiya Yokocho Alley) There is a quarter in the central part of Kawagoe City, where streets constructed in the Edo period remain intact. This quarter is a popular spot for tourists visiting Saitama. You will see a row of storehouses within walking distance from Kawagoe Station. |
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Koedo Kurari is a commercial facility-cum-amusement park utilizing the old buildings of a former sake brewer. Koedo Kurari is the best facilities to visit to complete your sightseeing in Kawagoe. |
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Travel to enjoy Nagatoro and Chichibu
A course has been prepared so that visitors can fully enjoy themselves in the sightseeing spots of these two towns that are said to represent Saitama tourism. Chichibu is a quiet valley town with beautiful natural surroundings and a long history. The course will enable visitors to have the active experience of rafting while they commune with natural beauty and visit historic buildings. You can enjoy yourself to your heart's content in Chichibu and Nagatoro.
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Japanese silk fabric is world famous. Visitors can experience the making of Chichibu Meisen, a type of Japanese silk fabric, here. Chichibu Meisen, which is characterized by its unique Hogushiori woven pattern, once took the world of women's fashion by storm. |
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Chichibu Shrine is the main shrine of the Chichibu district and has been worshipped at by people from ancient times. This shrine has many must-see spots. Visitors will see the stately shrine pavilion soon after they pass the Shinto gate. |
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The Chichibu Jibasan Center, a tourism and traffic base for the Chichibu area, is located on the first floor of the Chichibu Station. |
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Sailing Down Nagatoro (Reservations accepted around station) Nothing is more appealing sightseeing in Nagatoro than sailing down the river. The landscape seen from a Japanese-style boat operated by the skipper looks as if it were a scroll of a Japanese ink painting. |
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Tatami is a traditional Japanese flooring material. Nagatoro Iwadatami (lit. Nagatoro rock tatami) was so named because the rocks look like successive layers of tatami overlapping each other. The beauty of Nagatoro's valley is of Japan's highest class. |
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It is said that the opening of Hodosan Shrine dates back 1,900 years. This shrine, the name of which is auspicious in Japanese (literally meaning treasure, climbing, and mountain), with the stately parapets of its main hall covered with richly colored, brilliant sculptures, is a popular sightseeing spot in Nagatoro. |
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